Chronology and palaeoenvironmental interpretation of Holocene aeolian sands at the inland edge of the Sinai-Negev erg

Abstract

Three Holocene dune units overlying Pleistocene loess were studied in a sand quarry near the limit of inland penetration of the Sinai-Negev erg from the Mediterranean coast. Radiocarbon dating of hearths in these units indicates ages of c. 4100 cal. BC, cal. AD 600-900, and cal. AD 1700-1950 for the units. Each of these dates corresponds to a period of relatively dense occupation of the region, i.e., the Chalcolithic period, the Late Byzantine-Early Islamic period, and the recent period of Bedouin settlement. Activation of the sands at these times is probably due to the grazing and trampling activity of livestock. The Chalcolithic sands have a high content of fines and appear to have accumulated under relatively moist conditions. Amino acid epimerization analysis of land-snail shells from the dune sands indicates that none of the shells is contemporary with the sands. The shells were incorporated during earlier periods of dune movement and subsequently redeposited along with the sands.